The new year comes with hope. I don’t believe in a fresh slate exactly; most of us are in the same general circumstances as we were just a few days ago. But we do have an opportunity to take a deep breath of fresh air and reflect on our overall situation, with an open heart to new perspectives and a change in direction.

Here are three themes I chose for my own path in the new year:

A watercolor and new year’s poem I created a few years ago.

Live in a spirit of love and peace. I think many of us have this sort of mindset for 2017. We look at the crises and challenges around us and wonder what we can do – how can we be an authentic force for creating the kind of world we want to live in? We may struggle to find our own solutions. I try to show my love to those close to me, and to support those I don’t know in different ways, such as donations, volunteering, and communication. I will provide more financial support this year for the organizations I believe in, those working to hold true to my values of peace, civil rights, personal freedoms, economic fairness, and environmental improvement.

Eat Healthier. To me that means more organic vegetables, less sugar. I won’t go to extremes, but will take a more holistic view of adding food choices that support the needs of my family. I have gradually adopted this path for the last couple years, but I am ready to crank it up a notch with using my new spiralizer, shopping more at farmers’ markets and natural food stores, and integrating new healthy recipes into my repertoire.

Write my novel. While I have been working on this project for over a year now, I am excited to get more of what is in head and outlines into actual prose — words on the page. It is so easy to let other priorities and responsibilities in life come before my own personal passion. My intention is to make major strides in writing during the next few months, and to (hopefully, because I don’t believe in putting strong deadlines on my creative work) have my novel published in 2017.

How about you? What are your themes or objectives for this new year? If your intentions include eating healthier, losing weight, finding a new job, developing a passion or hobby, going back to school, or traveling more, my book, Realize Your Dreams: Create an Action Plan for Life Transformation has advice and inspiration for you. In fact, I intend to create a new action plan or two for myself.